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2017 Infiniti QX30 First Drive

If you've heard anything before about this car, the 2017 Infiniti QX30, it probably has to do with its corporate parents, an odd couple if there ever was one. Renault-Nissan, Infiniti's corporate overlords, inked a deal with Mercedes-Benz to share some mechanical components and platforms. That deal put a new, very modern 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four under the hood of the Q50 and was the genesis of what you're looking at here. What are you looking at here? We drove this car in 2015, when it was called a Q30 – originally it was going to be the lower-riding counterpart to the slightly jacked-up QX30. Then Infiniti decided it'd make more sense to sell all variants of this vehicle as CUVs in the US, so we have three slightly different flavors of the QX30 instead. There's the normal version; the Sport, which is 0.6 inches lower; and the AWD, which is 1.2 inches higher. Infiniti brought us to Seattle to sample the Sport and AWD flavors on a semi-circumnavigation of the Puget Sound. It didn't rain a drop, thanks for asking, and instead was sunny and mild the whole time. It's easy to make the QX30 sound more confusing than it actually is. This is essentially a Mercedes-Benz GLA250 with full exterior styling and partial interior design by Infiniti, built in the UK alongside several other Nissans. The powertrain and chassis, including the optional AWD system, were all "co-developed" with partner Daimler, with final calibration and tuning by Infiniti engineers. Here's another way of explaining it: Infiniti needs an entry-level car to appeal to new premium car shoppers, and the QX30 is the prescription. It's a hatchback that's been given the mildest of CUV treatments and a lot of marketing descriptors. That's because hatchbacks are sales death in America. In Europe, they'll see right through the CUV posturing and realize it's just a hatchback offered in three different suspension heights. Whatever you call it to make it palatable to Americans, it's a useful little vehicle. This car is mechanically identical to the Q30, so there are some things we can gloss over. Both are powered by a transverse-mounted 2.0-liter Mercedes inline-four. It's a turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engine, and it sure feels like one. It sounds like a rock tumbler full of nickels and runs out of breath at about 5,000 rpm. All versions make 208 hp at 5,500 rpm and 258 lb-ft of torque between 1,200 and 4,400 rpm – more than adequate but less than thrilling.

Leopard walks in, shuts down a Mercedes-Benz plant

In recent months the auto industry has seen plant closures due to a host of reasons — parts shortages, recalls, natural disasters, and even a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Now it can add to that list the threat of an invading leopard. A Mercedes-Benz factory in Pune, India, was forced to halt production for a few hours when a wayward jungle cat wandered into the facility, When the 3-year-old male leopard was spotted inside the manufacturing unit of the factory, it caused a panic among workers, according to a release by rescue organization Wildlife SOS discovered by The Drive. The site was shut down for about six hours as a Wildlife SOS rapid response team from the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre and the State Forest Department safely removed the curious cat. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The team's veterinary officers Dr. Nikhil Bangar and Dr. Shubham Patil carried out the rescue operation, tranquilizing the feline and loading it into a wildlife carrier. The rescue took about four hours, and Wildlife SOS reports that neither the creature nor any workers sustained injuries. The leopard was released back into the wild.  No one is quite sure how it got onto the factory grounds, but Wildlife SOS says that the forests in the surrounding region have one of the highest densities of leopards in the world. It's also suffering from rapid deforestation. That encroachment by humans has led to a decrease in the leopard's natural prey as well, so wildlife experts think it may have been looking for food.  The Mercedes plant builds the Maybach S 560, S-Class, E-Class Long Wheelbase, C-Class, CLA, GLA, GLE and GLS for the Indian market.  We have a different theory. We believe that the cat was seeking to set the record straight with Mercedes. When the S 65 AMG debuted, Mercedes claimed it featured the world's first Road Surface Scan technology to detect pavement undulations and adjust suspension damping accordingly. The only problem with that claim: Nissan had the technology some 30 years earlier in several mid-80s models, including the Maxima and Japan's version of the Infiniti M30, which was called — you guessed it — the Leopard. 

2022 Infiniti QX55 Road Test | Yes, crossover coupes can be weekend warriors

SAUGATUCK, Mich. -- We almost didn’t take it. The 2022 Infiniti QX55 wasnÂ’t our first choice for a long weekend getaway to the frozen shores of Lake Michigan. No slight against this stylish crossover -- itÂ’s just not all that big. Especially for two adults, a preschooler, a golden retriever and all of the things needed for a winter vacation. The night before we left, in the drive-through line at CulverÂ’s, we decided: “Hey this thing is really nice. LetÂ’s hope everything fits.” More important decisions have been made with less thought, so the next morning I began packing the QX55. With 26.9 cubic feet, thereÂ’s actually more cargo space than coupe-styled crossovers like the 2022 Audi Q5 Sportback, Mercedes GLC Coupe and BMW X4. Still, the graceful rooflines limit storage capacity for all of these. In my mind, theyÂ’re more commuter crossovers. If you need real space, you would opt for the more upright QX50 and its 31.4 cubic feet of cargo room.  But what the hell is a cubic foot, really? Trunks and cargo areas are often as much about shape as they are about raw volume, and the QX55 turned out to be surprisingly roomy. I wedged a large Samsonite carry-on (19 inches long, 13.5 inches wide), a massive duffle bag, a box of food and stuff, a case of beer, a sled and a few other things, plus two heavy winter parkas laid over the top. For the return trip, we wedged even more stuff in there, including a trash bag filled with laundry and beer from the local brewing scene. On the way there, I could see out the back. On the way home, not so much. For more adventures in loading up the QX55, check out this luggage test. ThatÂ’s the tradeoff and something youÂ’ll want to consider if youÂ’re buying something like the QX55. You need to really like the styling, and this segment includes lookers like the X4, which are more compelling visually than their boxier brethren. The QX55 shares InfinitiÂ’s variable compression turbo, which makes 268 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque, so thereÂ’s no compelling powertrain reason to seek out the coupe version. Even though the 55 is more rigid than the 50, youÂ’d really need to be an engineer to notice the difference. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.   The steering is light and the suspension is tuned for comfort. If youÂ’re looking for a driver, consider any of the German competitors first, though the VC turbo is an interesting engine that has some heart.